Soil microbial testing now affordable

Many farmers are faced with the situation of diminishing returns, even where productivity is increasing.

It is not that new technology, such as precision systems, new formulations of fertilisers and chemicals, do not continue to increase productivity, but often the problem is that productivity is not cost-effective.

So after a while, the graph of cost increases starts to converge with the graph of productivity increases, and when that happens it is time for a serious re-think.

So much research has gone into improving fertiliser technology that it is difficult to see an area that has not been, or is not being, improved. The diminishing returns are an increasing reality for many farmers.

However, there is one area that conventional technology has not considered, or been able to get a good handle on - soil microbiology - and the steadily growing groundswell of operators looking to manage their soil microbiology better have not been satisfied with the management tools previously available to assist them.

Until now, increased interest in soil microbiology has been hampered on the ground by a lack of affordable and reliable microbial testing services.